Connect to Avalara AvaTax Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to Avalara AvaTax data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to Avalara AvaTax as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

• User: Set this to your username.
• Password: Set this to your password.

Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

• UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

• AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
• LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for Avalara AvaTax. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with Avalara AvaTax data.

1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the Avalara AvaTax DSN in the Data Source menu. 👁 The ODBC DSN, required to create the Database Profile. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Avalara AvaTax Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to ODBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve Avalara AvaTax data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData AvalaraAvatax Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_transactions.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_transactions.Retrieve();